Lent.

For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost. (Luke 19:10)

 

“I must have missed the exit”, I thought to myself as I kept driving farther and farther away from the dinner that I was now late for. Only, I didn’t know I was driving in the wrong direction. When I made a wrong turn miles before, that wrong turn became 10 wrong turns. I was lost.

 

If you are like me, then when you get lost you get scared. I don’t like not knowing where I am. “How did I end up here?” That is something I’ve also said in regards to my spiritual life. There have been times when a bad decision has started me on an uncharted path away from God, and if I didn’t confess my sin to myself and to God then I would keep walking farther away from God and his voice would become more faint as I step into the darkness.

 

But, Bible verses such as this one remind me that Jesus is always seeking me out when I’m lost. And Jesus does this with joy because that is part of his purpose: to seek out and to save the lost. He wants to search for me and to find me and to bring me back to the path that leads to eternal life. So, when we are lost, we must remember Bible verses such as this one to encourage us to let God find us and to let Jesus save us again and again.

 

Let us pray:  Lord, thank you for seeking and saving me when I am lost.  Whenever I take a wrong turn, and find myself going in the wrong direction, help me to remember that you do not give up on me.  Turn me around and bring me back to follow your path, again and again.  Amen.

 

Today’s devotional was written and read by Chris Jacobs.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.